Martin Nillson and his compatriot Tove Alexandersson – despite returning from the efforts of the Vertical Monte Lussari the previous evening – did not grant any discounts by winning the Tarvisio Winter Trail valid as a single test for the assignment of titles in the classic specialty. Luca Del Pero is vice world champion and combined gold medalist, Corinna Ghirardi gives an encore and wins another bronze medal. Numbers in hand, Italy confirms itself as world team champion as it did two years ago in Spain.
The soft snow of the 17 km route (the descent was lengthened for technical reasons, making it much more runnable) made the challenge even more tiring for the 280 athletes who competed in front of Mount Mangart, where there was no shortage of blows of scene.
If in the men’s race it was the Swede Nillson’s solo, whose victory was never in question, in the women’s race the same script as the previous day was repeated, with Alexandersson in the lead who was forced to grit her teeth to defend herself from the attack of the Madlen Kappler returning. The German, like a few hours earlier on the steep slopes of Monte Lussari, managed to close the gap of over a minute that separated her from the head of the race at the 5th km, then reaching the Zacchi refuge, after 11.5km of race, just 11″ behind. But the Swede did not let herself be overwhelmed, giving her all to win her second world gold. For her final time of 1h22’18”, with Kappler in second place, 26” behind. Closing the podium in 1h24’52” was the extraordinary Corinna Ghirardi, who repeated the bronze she won on Saturday evening in the vertical.
Even more extraordinary was the comeback of Elisa Desco, who from 8th place was able to finish within a handful of seconds of the podium: little by little she was able to gain ground on her opponents and, taking advantage of her skills in the descent towards the finish line, was awarded 4th position overall and victory in the open competition. 5th and 6th place for the Russian Anastasiia Rubtsova and the very young Anna Hofer, who was leading a masterful race up to the Zacchi refuge, where she climbed the hill to 4th place just a few seconds behind Ghirardi. Then probably the efforts of the vertical – where she surprised everyone by taking 4th place overall – made themselves felt, but nothing takes away from the performance of this girl who has the future entirely on her side. Closing the top ten are Joana Soares, Marina Fidler, Eve Whitaker and Alena Topor.
Returning to the men’s race, if Nillson practically had a race of his own, clearly separating everyone from the start, behind him the cards were continually reshuffled, making the competition even more exciting. The leading group changed km after km, with the outgoing world champion Luca Del Pero able to recover and win silver this time. For him, the final time was 1h11’56”, almost 2′ behind the winner who finished in 1h09’59”.
Third step of the podium for an amazing Daniel Antonioli, who with his experience in the final descent stunned the Swede Timotej Becan, thus winning the open race in 1h12’15”.
Behind him there was a brawl between Becan and the young Lorenzo Rota Martir, with the former winning by just 12”. Sixth place for a surprising Raffaele Teza, who amazes everyone by taking second place in the overall race. Followed by the Spaniard Alain Santamaria Blanco – who perhaps due to a somewhat fast start, from 2nd place in the 5th km, was relegated to 7th – Gianluca Ghiano, Luca Cagnati and Diego Diaz Ortega.
The main event was framed by the non-competitive 10 km test and the Young Trail, in which even the little ones were able to be the protagonists together with the champions.
Thus the curtain falls with an organizational result that goes beyond all expectations on the two-day Friulian world championship: «We are really satisfied with how it went – commented the patron of the event Maurizio Ragonese –. They were two decidedly intense days with the premiere of the Vertical Monte Lussari and the now well-established Tarvisio Winter Trail. Between yesterday and today we had just over 550 competitors representing 27 nations, with a decidedly high level in both the world championship and the open competition. This time the sun did not allow us to admire the extraordinary natural landscape of Lake Fusine, but it must be said that the light snowfall made the environment even more of a ‘winter trail’. Now it’s time to celebrate together and enjoy this amazing success. I take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers, public bodies and private sponsors who supported us.”
2024-09-03 00:00:00
#ISF #SKYSNOW #WORLD #CHAMPIONSHIP
